All the Ugly and Wonderful Things: A Novel

As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. It's safer to keep her mouth shut and stay out of sight. Struggling to raise her little brother, Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house until one night her stargazing causes an accident. After witnessing his motorcycle wreck, she forms an unusual friendship with one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold.

The Girl Before

Clara Lawson is torn from her life in an instant. Without warning, her home is invaded by armed men, and she finds herself separated from her beloved husband and daughters. The last thing her husband yells to her is to say nothing. In chapters that alternate between past and present, the novel slowly unpeels the layers of Clara's fractured life. We see her growing up, raised with her sisters by the stern Mama and Papa G, becoming a poised and educated young woman, falling desperately in love with the forbidden son of her adoptive parents.

Only Daughter

In 2003, 16-year-old Rebecca Winter disappeared. She'd been enjoying her teenage summer break: working at a fast-food restaurant, crushing on an older boy, and shoplifting with her best friend. Mysteriously ominous things began to happen - blood in the bed, periods of blackouts, a feeling of being watched - though Bec remained oblivious of what was to come.

The Girl You Lost

Eighteen years ago Simone Porter's six-month-old daughter, Helena, was abducted. Simone and husband Matt have slowly rebuilt their shattered lives, but the pain at losing their child has never left them. Then a young woman, Grace, appears out of the blue and tells Simone she has information about her stolen baby. But just who is Grace - and can Simone trust her? When Grace herself disappears, Simone becomes embroiled in a desperate search for her baby and the woman who has vital clues about her whereabouts.

The Sister

Grace hasn't been the same since the death of her best friend, Charlie. She is haunted by Charlie's words the last time she saw her and, in a bid for answers, opens an old memory box of Charlie's. It soon becomes clear there was a lot she didn't know about her best friend. When Grace starts a campaign to find Charlie's father, Anna, a girl claiming to be Charlie's sister, steps forward. For Grace, finding Anna is like finding a new family, and soon Anna has made herself very comfortable in Grace and her boyfriend Dan's home. But something isn't right.

Baby Doll

Escape was just the beginning. Held captive for eight years, Lily has grown from a teenager to an adult in a small basement prison. Her daughter, Sky, has been a captive her whole life. But one day their captor leaves the dead bolt unlocked. This is what happens next to Lily, to her twin sister, to her mother, to her daughter - and to her captor.

Small Great Things: A Novel

Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than 20 years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders, or does she intervene?

If You Find Me

Fourteen-year-old Carey and six-year-old Jenessa have lived in the woods with their mother for as long as they can remember. Now abandoned, they must fend for themselves - until they’re found by Carey’s father and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of comfort. Carey desperately wants to believe in this new reality but is held back by loyalty to her mentally ill mother, who gave Carey her violin and taught her to play the music that helps her survive.

The Darkest Secret: A Novel

Real estate mogul Sean Jackson is throwing himself a splashy 50th birthday party, but trouble starts almost immediately: His ex-wife has sent his teenage daughters to the party without telling him; his current wife has fired the nanny; and he's finding it difficult to sneak away to his mistress. Then something truly terrible happens: one of his three-year-old twins goes missing. No trace of her is ever found. The attendees of the party, nicknamed the Jackson Associates by the press, become infamous overnight.

The Couple Next Door: A Novel

Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all - a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story.

The Stranger Within

Be careful what you wish for. On the surface, Callie Harwell has it all. Newly married to James, she finally gets the family she has longed for and becomes a mother to his two sons. So why is she arrested for murder? Things are not as Callie hoped they would be and she struggles to be accepted as part of James' family, and to keep hidden the secrets that could destroy her future. As her life spirals out of control, setting in motion a chain of events with devastating consequences, Callie is forced to question how well we ever really know ourselves.

Beware That Girl

The Haves. The Have-Nots. Kate O'Brien appears to be a Have-Not. Her whole life has been a series of setbacks she's had to snake her way out of - some more sinister than others. But she's determined to change that. She's book smart. She's street-smart. Oh, and she's also a masterful liar. As the scholarship student at the Waverly School in NYC, Kate has her work cut out for her: Her plan is to climb the social ladder and land a spot at Yale. She's already found her "people" among the senior class "it" girls.

Julie Prentice and her family move across the country to the idyllic Mount Adams district of Cincinnati, hoping to evade the stalker who's been terrorizing them ever since the publication of her bestselling novel, The Murder Game. Since Julie doesn't know anyone in her new town, when she meets her neighbor John Dunbar, their instant connection brings measured hope for a new beginning. But she never imagines that a simple, benign conversation with him could set her life spinning so far off course.

The Perfect Girl: A Novel

Zoe Maisey is a 17-year-old musical prodigy with a genius IQ. Three years ago she was involved in a tragic incident that left three classmates dead. She served her time, and now her mother, Maria, is resolved to keep that devastating fact tucked far away from their new beginning, hiding the past even from her new husband and demanding Zoe do the same.

Good As Gone

Thirteen-year-old Julie Whitaker was kidnapped from her bedroom in the middle of the night, witnessed only by her younger sister. Her family was shattered, but managed to stick together, hoping against hope that Julie is still alive. And then one night: the doorbell rings. A young woman who appears to be Julie is finally, miraculously, home safe. The family is ecstatic - but Anna, Julie's mother, has whispers of doubts. She hates to face them.

The Darkest Corners

There are ghosts around every corner in Fayette, Pennsylvania. Tessa left when she was nine and has been trying ever since not to think about it after what happened there that last summer. Memories of things so dark will burn themselves into your mind if you let them. Callie never left. She moved to another house, so she doesn't have to walk those same halls, but then Callie always was the stronger one.

Behind Closed Doors

Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth; she has charm and elegance. He's a dedicated attorney who has never lost a case; she is a flawless homemaker, a masterful gardener and cook, and dotes on her disabled younger sister. Though they are still newlyweds, they seem to have it all. You might not want to like them, but you do. You're hopelessly charmed by the ease and comfort of their home, by the graciousness of the dinner parties they throw. You’d like to get to know Grace better.

Harmony

How far will a mother go to save her family? The Hammond family is living in DC, where everything seems to be going just fine until it becomes clear that the oldest daughter, Tilly, is developing abnormally - a mix of off-the-charts genius and social incompetence. Once Tilly - whose condition is deemed undiagnosable - is kicked out of the last school in the area, her mother, Alexandra, is out of ideas. The family turns to Camp Harmony and the wisdom of child-behavior guru Scott Bean for a solution.

He Will Be My Ruin

Twenty-eight-year-old Maggie Sparkes arrives in New York City to pack up what's left of her best friend's belongings after a suicide that has left everyone stunned. The police have deemed the evidence conclusive: Celine got into bed, downed a bottle of Xanax and a handle of Maker's Mark, and never woke up. But when Maggie discovers secrets in the childhood lockbox hidden in Celine's apartment, she begins asking questions. Questions about the man Celine fell in love with.

Evelyn, After: A Novel

Evelyn Tester is sleepwalking through her suburban life - until a late-night phone call startles her awake. Her husband, a prestigious psychiatrist, has been in an accident. And he isn't alone. Suddenly Evelyn's world isn't as tidy as she thought. And in the midst of it all is Juliette, not only her husband's secret lover but also his patient. If news of the affair were to get out, it would ruin more than just Evelyn's marriage. Although it's a bitter pill for Evelyn to swallow, protecting her family means staying silent.

Try Not to Breathe: A Novel

Alex Dale is lost. Destructive habits have cost her a marriage and a journalism career. All she has left is her routine: a morning run until her body aches, then a few hours of forgettable work before the past grabs hold and drags her down. Every day is treading water, every night is drowning. Until Alex discovers Amy Stevenson. Amy Stevenson, who was just another girl from a nearby town until the day she was found unconscious after a merciless assault.

The One Man: A Novel

It's 1944. Physics professor Alfred Mendel and his family are trying to flee Paris when they are caught and forced onto a train along with thousands of other Jewish families. At the other end of the long, torturous train ride, Alfred is separated from his family and sent to the men's camp, where all of his belongings are tossed on a roaring fire. His books, his papers, his life's work. The Nazis have no idea what they have just destroyed. And without that physical record, Alfred is one of only two people in the world with his particular knowledge.

The Kept Woman: Will Trent, Book 8

It's the most dangerous case of Will Trent's career. He knows this from the moment he sets foot in the abandoned Atlanta warehouse where a body lies on the floor - the body of an ex-cop. Bloody footprints leading away from the scene reveal that another victim, evidently a woman, was carried away and has vanished into thin air. And, worst of all, the warehouse belongs to the city's biggest and most high-profile athlete - a local hero protected by the world's most expensive lawyers.

Leave Me

For every woman who has ever fantasized about driving past her exit on the highway instead of going home to make dinner, for every woman who has ever dreamed of boarding a train to a place where no one needs constant attention - meet Maribeth Klein, a harried working mother who's so busy taking care of her husband and twins, she doesn't even realize she's had a heart attack. Afterward, surprised to discover that her recuperation seems to be an imposition on those who rely on her, Maribeth does the unthinkable: She packs a bag and leaves.

Publisher's Summary

Angela Pisel's poignant debut explores the complex relationship between a mother and a daughter, their quest to discover the truth, and whether or not love can prevail - even from behind bars.

Grace Bradshaw knows the exact minute she will die. On death row for murdering her infant son, her last breath will be taken on February 15 at 12:01 a.m. Eleven years, five months, and 27 days separate her from the last time she heard her precious daughter's voice and the final moment she'd heard anyone call her mom. Out of appeals, she can focus on only one thing - reconnecting with her daughter and making sure she knows the truth.

Secrets lurk behind Sophie Logan's big house and even bigger bank account. Every day when she kisses her husband good-bye, she worries her fabricated life is about to come crumbling down. No one knows the unforgivable things her mother did to tear her family apart - not her husband, who is a prominent plastic surgeon, or her "synthetic" friends who live in her upscale neighborhood.

Grace's looming execution date forces Sophie to revisit the traumatic events that haunted her childhood. When she returns to her hometown, she discovers new evidence about her baby brother William's death 17 years ago - proof that might set her mother free but shatter her own marriage forever.

Sophie must quickly decide if her mother is the monster the prosecutor made her out to be or the loving mother she remembers - the one who painted her toenails glittery pink and plastered Post-it notes with inspiring quotes ("100 percent failure rate if you don't try") all over Sophie's bathroom mirror - before their time runs out.

I was honestly not expecting much from this book, however this book was amazing! I found myself wanting to hear more from Sophie and her situation at home. I also found myself crying A LOT but I cry easily, as a mother I found myself having compassion for Grace and the unimaginable pain she must have felt. I highly recommend this book. Heartfelt and beautifully written

What a great book! Grace's struggles to connect with her daughter were so moving and her compassion to her fellow inmates was a lesson to us all. Thanks to the author for demonstrating humanity at its best and worst in the same story.

This book was difficult to turn off. The author created two very strong yet vulnerable women. With every turn of the page there was an unexpected twist or slight turn in the plot that left you wanting to hear more!Heart wrenching and joyous, nerve wracking and yet satisfying. Highly recommended.

No, but strictly because I'm a once read always remembered type girl, however, I would strongly recommend it to everyone especially my friends who are mothers.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes and no. I had a dreadful feeling the entire duration of the book that it was not going to end in the rainbows and unicorns ending I had secretly hoped for, but the ending of the book is real, raw, gritty and heart breaking.

Have you listened to any of Carol Monda and Andi Arndt ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I do not believe that I have

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely. After the first couple chapters, I was completely hooked. It was interesting how the author wove all the pieces together.

Any additional comments?

Solid 4.5 stars! Very enjoyable read. My only qualm would be the author really didn't finish up what happened with the doctor and his court case. Like what happened? You can't leave me hanging like that.

I never, ever take the time to write reviews. This is hands down one of the best books I have listened to on here--& I listen to books non stop. I searched the author but didn't find any other works :(. Loved it! Had me feeling every emotion & I even teared up, rare for me.

This book is about a mother on death row accused of killing her infant son. It tells the story of her daughter, now an adult, finally coming to terms with it. Sometimes you just have to make the best of the situation and not focus on things you can not control. This book could have been a story of someone's life. It was easy to listen to, kept my interest and was not predictable. No bad language. I highly recommend it.